Oil Painting Comparisons

Let’s compare some oil paintings: a 2006 version reworked, a 2010 painted again, and a painting begun to its midpoint.

I painted this in 2006; my friend (let’s call him Craig, because that is his name) brought it back to me upon my request. I wanted to rework it so that I wouldn’t feel embarrassed for taking his money 17 years ago.

It took awhile, but I found the original reference photograph. With limited (ahem, zero, actually) experience in painting scenery back then, I just did my best to match the somewhat gray and faded colors of the photo. I was successful in matching, which is one of the important lessons of learning to paint. However, now I like to substitute brighter colors.

Craig also asked me to repaint a 6×6″ scene that I had originally done in 2010. I was able to convince him to just trade me rather than keep 2 almost identical paintings.

Can you tell which is old and which is new? Probably not, so I’ll tell you: old is on the right, new on the left.

Then I decided to touch up the old so that I can sell it next year, assuming my places of commerce will be open and thriving again.

You probably can’t tell the difference in this photo. That’s okay, because I can and I know it is better now.

Finally, let’s look at a painting in its beginning ugly stages, and then enjoy it after it has been worked on a bit more.

I relayered the sky and clouds, worked on the trees, and began detailing the buffalo. (For some unknown reason, I worked from right to left on the herd, rather than my normal left to right.)

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I love to draw with my paintbrushes.

Petite Poultry Paintings

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It was a little too dark for painting well. But these petite poultry paintings could be painted by holding them in my left hand, tilted toward the window for better light while painting. 

I added a second layer to each one.

Then I did my favorite part: drew the details with a tiny paintbrush.

From there, they got moved to the living room in the house with the wood stove for drying. They will look better when scanned (after they dry, of course), because there is that bothersome shine to wet paint which makes photographs look inadequate.

Cluck I, Cluck II, and Cockadoodle-doo, completed!

Custom Oil Paintings

You’ve heard me say (or read on my blog) for about a year now that:

I use pencils, oil paint and murals to make art you understand of places and things you love at prices that won’t scare you.

Today’s blog is just to show you a few of those custom oil paintings through the years. If you have been following my blog for a few years (or maybe many), these will be familiar to you.

Some go back as far as 11 years! I’ve been oil painting since March 8, 2006, so this should not come as a surprise. What still surprises me is that I feel like a beginner; maybe I need my head examined. 

My show “Still Here” is still there, at Arts Visalia, that is. The phone # to make an appointment to see it is 559-739-0905. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, noon-5:30 (5 on Friday). I will be there on Friday, April 30, the last day; the work will be removed at 5 p.m.

 

 

Custom Oil Paintings

These are custom oil paintings, commissioned pieces, from a whole lotta* years. Each one was done with a whole lotta* discussion with the customer (customer—custom art—get it?) to be sure to achieve what the customer desires.

This customer provided photos, but I went there myself and looked it over further, taking a few more pictures to be sure to get things accurate.

Yes, I am fully aware that Homer’s Nose does not appear above the Oak Grove Bridge in real life. However, the customer requested this, and my dad taught me, “You kisses their fanny and takes their money”. (No, no fanny kissing took place – it is simply a figure of speech that means you do what the customer requests whether or not it makes sense to you.)

This one was painted for someone who is color-blind, so I focused on contrast for him. 

I use pencil, oil paint, and murals to make art that you can understand of places and things you love for prices that won’t scare you.

*We discussed this term in yesterday’s post.

Inching Along the Commissions

Reminder: “commission” is Art Speak for a custom piece of art. Here are two in progress:

No matter how often I paint the Oak Grove Bridge, it challenges my ability to draw with a paintbrush. Drawing with a paintbrush is something that is sneered at in the Art World, but I am hard-pressed to imagine how one of those loosey-goosey painters would handle this subject.

I sent this photo to my customer, and he declared me to be finished. He was actually nicer than that – he said, “As I said before, you are the best!” Aw shucks, thank you, DB. You are a dream customer.

The giant circle continues to develop. The surface of smooth plywood with several base coats of paint is different than canvas and will take multiple layers to cover. That’s fine, because I can get tighter and better with each layer. This is my preferred method of painting, fix, fix, fix some more, and fix again, called “glazing” in Art Speak. That is how I painted the bridge commission.

My customer the citrus grower asked if the trees would be darker, because I sent a photo taken earlier than this one. Then I took this photo, and because the paint is wet here, it is reflective so it still looks pale. I kept painting, and then sent this photo:

I love this subject matter just as much as the Oak Grove Bridge and am quite happy about getting to spend many hours making it look as good as possible.